At Totnes, when we asked the way to Dartmouth, the people jocularly told
us that the only direct way was by boat down the river; but our rules
and regulations would not permit of our going that way, so we decided to
keep as near to the river as we could on the outward journey and find an
alternative route on our return. This was a good idea, but we found it
very difficult to carry out in the former case, owing to the streams
which the River Dart receives on both sides on its way towards the sea.
Relieved of the weight of our luggage, we set off at a good speed across
fields and through woods, travelling along lanes the banks of which
were in places covered with ferns. In Cheshire we had plenty of bracken,
but very few ferns, but here they flourished in many varieties. A
gentleman whom we met rambling along the river bank told us there were
about forty different kinds of ferns and what he called "fern allies" to
be found in the lanes and meadows in Devonshire. He said it was also
noted for fungi, in which he appeared to be more interested than in the
ferns, telling us there were six or seven hundred varieties, some of
them being very beautiful both in colour and form; but we never cared
very much for these, as we thought them too much akin to poisonous
toadstools.
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